In researching the history of my home, The Round House in Chitterne, Wiltshire, I became fascinated by the history of Chitterne itself. I am still fascinated, so this history I present here for whoever is interested, is being added to from time to time. If, having read it, you find you have some historical fact about Chitterne that I have omitted, please email me : Sue Robinson Visit my website here to find out what I am up to.

Before 1066	Chitterne consisted of two manors in Anglo Saxon times, though by the Norman Conquest it formed three properties held by Azor, Chenvin and Ulwen.
After 1066	An Englishman, Edward of Salisbury, held Chitterne and was made Sheriff of Wiltshire, he had his castle at Old Sarum. Edward then had a son called Walter
1086	In the Domesday Book Chitterne was called Chetre or Cheltre (a place of refuge). Chitterne means "dwelling in the wood", aern or ern being Anglo-Saxon for dwelling.
1142	Walter, Edward's son, founded Bradenstoke Priory and gave the Chapel of St Andrew in Chitterne to it. Edward's grandson, Patricius (Patrick), took the Chapel back in exchange for land at Wilcote.
1149	Patrick was created Earl of Salisbury by Empress Matilda, he was her steward of the household.
1168	Patrick died whilst returning from a crusade .
118?	Ela, daughter to William, Second Earl of Salisbury (son of Patrick) was born at Amesbury. (William was keeper of the charter for licensing tournaments).
1196	William died. Ela, now Countess of Salisbury, was married to William Longespee, illegitimate son of Henry II and half-brother of King John, at an early age.
1215	As Earl of Salisbury, William was present with King John at the signing of the Magna Carta.
1220	Ela and William laid one foundation stone each of the new Cathedral of Sarum (now Salisbury Cathedral).
1226	William died and was buried in the Cathedral.
1229	Ela proposed a Monastery at Lacock.
1232	Ela founded the Monastery of Lacock. Her son, William Longespee II, gave his lands at Chitterne to the Monastery .
1238	Ela joined the Abbey at Lacock as a nun.
1240	Ela became Abbess.
1247	William's donation of lands to the Monastery confirmed by Henry III.
1256	Henry III gave the nuns a market, a fair and free warren at Chitterne.
1261	Ela died and was buried at Lacock Abbey.
1264 - 68	H. de Bratton, chancellor of Exon, granted 17 acres at Chitterne to his valet, H. de Paddebroke, he in turn granted it to the Dean and Chapter for 20 marks.
1270	Giles de Bridport, as Bishop of Sarum, acquired All Saints Church and 17 acres of glebe and gave it to his newly formed College de Vaux, at Harnham, Sarum.
1289	Lacock Abbey, under Abbess Juliana, bought one messuage and two carucates of land in Chitterne from William de Horton, Margaret le Rous of Beremtham and Matilda de Merweden at 20s . each.
1291	Nicholas Longespee, last surviving son of Ela, became Bishop of Salisbury.
1306	The first listed Vicar of Chitterne All Saints was John de Netheravene under the patronage of the Bishop of Salisbury.
1316	Chitterne mentioned in Nomina Villarum as Chuterne. The lords listed were "Abbissa de Lacock, Johannes Syfrewast (Cifrewast B) Prior de Bradenstoke et Alicia Pickeford."
1319	The first listed Vicar of Chitterne St Mary was William de Bratton, under the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of Salisbury.
1341	At the Inquisition of the Ninths, the ninth of Chitterne was valued at 56s.8d., the portion of the Abbess of Lacock was 21s.3d. The Chapel of St Andrew was valued at £3.3s.4d., having one carucate of land with pasture and a dovehouse valued at £1.6s.8d.
1447	The belfry, the bell and all the Abbess's houses in Chitterne were suddenly burnt by lightening.
1450	The Chapel of St Mary , (the chancel that remains of the partly demolished church of Chitterne St Mary) is reputed to date from around this time.
1530	Edward Morgan died, he was chief tenant in Chitterne of the Abbess of Lacock.
1536	Lacock Abbey placed in King Henry VIII's power. He spared it.
1539	The Abbey was surrendered to the King.
1543
Lacock Abbey was bought by Sir William Sharrington. Former Abbey lands at Chitterne were sold to John Williams and Anthony Stringer and held by Milbourne and Flower after the dissolution. The Rectory of Chitterne, formerly belonging to the College de Vaux, Sarum was granted to Francis Morrice and Francis Phelips.
1545
John Williams and Anthony Stringer sold the Manor of Chitterne All Saints to Thomas and Elizabeth Temys, on 25th April 1545, for £207.14s.0d.
1580
John Temys, son of Thomas and Elizabeth Temys, sold the Manor of Chitterne All Saints to his brother-in-law, William Jordan, on 3rd May 1580 for £440.
1588	John Flower and William Jordan of Chitterne donated £25 each to the fund for the defence of the country against the threatened invasion by the Spanish Armada.
1614	John Flower, gentleman, died in possession of buildings and land in Chitterne St Mary, which he held of Henry, Lord Pawlett who was lord of the manor.
1635	Matthew Ley died in possession of manors or farms and land in Chitterne All Saints and Chitterne St Mary.
1651	Lord Pawlett granted a licence for the digging of clay, from the clay pits on Chitterne St Mary Down, to be made into tobacco pipes.
1662	William Jordan (grandson) and Jane his wife sold the Manor of Chitterne All Saints to John Gyles of Fisherton Delamere.
1668	Samuel Pepys stayed at the White Hart (now White Hart House) overnight.
1714	The bride wore her smock at the wedding of a Chitterne couple who married at Orcheston St Mary.
1716	Highway Robber shot by Edward Slade of Chitterne
1734	The Manor of Chitterne St Mary belonged to the Michell family.
1742	The George Inn burnt down.
1761-62	The Amesbury Turnpike Trust was set up. Chitterne is on the section of the road from West Amesbury to Ansty Hill.
1775	The Michell family had an addition made to All Saints Church to house their pew and mausoleum.
1793	Paul Cobb Methuen purchased the Manor of Chitterne All Saints from Norton Pawlett esq.
1799	The Manor of Chitterne St Mary bought by Paul Cobb Methuen of Corsham Court, from Bryant Biggs.
1810	Oram's grave burial site of suicides outside the village boundary.
1812	The Vicarage (now the Old Vicarage) was built in Chitterne Saint Mary.
1819	The benefices of Chitterne All Saints and Chitterne St Mary were united by deed.
1830	Walter Long bought land in Chitterne Saint Mary and Chitterne All Saints.
1839	Highway Robbery foiled by Farmer Dean.
1840	Chitterne School was opened.
1841	John Wallis Titt born in Chitterne. Went on to found his own agricultural engineering business and became internationally known for his windpumps and farm and waterworks equipment. The firm still has a base in Frome, Somerset.
1852	Manor Farm buildings and house at Chitterne All Saints were destroyed by fire on 17 April.
1861	The two old churches, were demolished, except for the chancels, which were used for mortuary chapels. The foundation stone of the new church of All Saints with St Mary's was laid by the Venerable Archdeacon Macdonald, Vicar, on land given by Walter Long for the purpose.
1862	The new church was consecrated by the Bishop of Salisbury.
1868	The Amesbury Turnpike Trust was defunct. The effects, including the Chitterne gates, were auctioned off in 1871.
1872	William Fred "Farmer" Brown of Scotland Yard was born in Chitterne.
1877	The chancel of the old church of All Saints was removed.
1878	Polden and Feltham, carpenters and wheelwrights, started in business in the village.
1879	Charles Morris died and bequeathed £300 in his will for the benefit of Chitterne School, known as the Morris Charity.
1881	The population of All Saints was 431, St Mary's 198, totalling 629.
1891	The population of All Saints was 428, St Mary's 154, totalling 582.
1894	The Inception of The Rural District Council. Annie Compton representing Chitterne St. Mary became one of the first women councillors in the country.
1897	The Jubilee Tree, a horse chestnut, was planted on the village green to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.
1901	The population of All Saints was 319, St Mary's 132, totalling 451.
1902	Percy Dean of Chitterne invested capital in a Salisbury company that later became Scout Motors.
1903	A fire destroyed a large part of the Baptist Chapel in Bidden Lane.
1904	Reverend John Thomas Canner, author of "The History of Chitterne", became vicar of Chitterne.
1907	The two parishes of Chitterne All Saints and Chitterne St. Mary became the civil parish of Chitterne by an order of the Local Government Board.
1914-18	Chitterne at war. Photo of the 4th Batt.Wilts.Regiment, transcript of Chitterne War Memorial etc.
1920-21	The Chitterne Hut was erected in Bidden Lane for social gatherings in the village.
1923	Chitterne Football Club completed a hat trick by winning the Warminster Hospital Cup for the third consecutive season.
1928	Ushers Brewery gave a piece of land to the village for the enlargement of St Mary's graveyard. Queen Mary visited Chitterne on 17 August, calling at Chitterne House, the home of her lady-in-waiting, Lady Eva Dugdale.
1936	Air crash at Chitterne.
1939-45	Chitterne at war again Wartime anecdotes about the Home Guard, the cadets, the Air Raid Warden etc.
1940's	The Chitterne Brook was excavated and half-lined with concrete.
1955	Gay Donald, a horse trained by Jim Ford at his Chitterne Racing Stables, won the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
1967	Chitterne School closed
1975	Farm buildings of a former pig farm, on the north side of the Warminster Road, were demolished and a housing development built on the site. It was named St Mary's Close, but the locals still call it "The Piggeries".
1981	The village roads were blocked by heavy snowfalls.
1983	Chitterne Barn, which lay outside the village limits near Copehill Down, was dismantled.
1984	Scenes in "Return to Oz", a film starring Fairuza Balk, were shot on location at Chitterne.
1986	The Ministry of Defence proposed, and had built, a FIBUA (Fighting in built-up areas) training village on Copehill Down, a mile outside Chitterne, despite vigorous protests from the villagers.
1988	Wessex Water built a new Pumping Station just outside the main village on the Tilshead Road at a cost of £1.7 million. The water, drawn from seven bore holes, serves Trowbridge and West Wiltshire.
1998	Chitterne Village Hall, previously the school, was demolished.
1999	The new Village Hall, on the same site, was opened on the 13th February.
2000	Chitterne Post Office closed its doors for the last time. The MoD opened the new Southern Range Road which passes to the north of Chitterne, through Breakheart Bottom. The road, built purely for army traffic, links Warminster, Knook, West Down and other camps en route to Tidworth, and should greatly reduce army traffic through the village.
2001	Chitterne Cricket Club was launched.
2002	To mark the Golden Jubilee of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II new gates were erected alongside All Saints with St Mary's Church.
2003	The newly repaired Church clock was rededicated by the Ven. Alan Jeans, Archdeacon of Sarum. The old red telephone box on the Green was knocked over when a car skidded into it in icy conditions. It was replaced by one of a modern design.
2004	The road bridge over the Chitterne Brook near the Codford Road junction was completely rebuilt to bring it up to the new standard during the first three months of the year.
2005	Broadband came to Chitterne on 18 May.
2007	A book called Chitterne - a Wiltshire Village was published by Hobnob Press.